Vessel-leveling device for galley ranges



June 10, 1 941. R E QQQNEY 2,245,254v

" .VESSEL-LEVELI'NG DEVICE FOR GALLEY'RANGES Filgd-April 26. 1939 22 21, Y a 1 8 ee y Y r 24 2 I L 28 i 27 Patented June 10, 1941 VES'SEL-LEVELING DEVIGE- FOR GALLEY' RANGES 1 Robert E. Cooney, New liar/en, Conn.

Application April 26, 1939, Serial No. 270,087.

2 Claims. (01. 248-139) This invention relates to apparatus for use in connection with galley ranges or cooking apparatus used upon shipboard, and'more particularly to a device for holding cooking vessels in operative position with respect to the range or stove in such a manner that the vessel will at all times be held in a level position.

Ships and boats are normally provided with a stove or range of some characterby which cook-- ing maybe performed upon the vessels. lit is not practicable to seat a cooking vessel directly upon the upper surface of the'stove or range, as may be done on land, as the movement of the boat is apt to dislodge the vessel orspill the contents thereof.

It is, therefore, desirable to arrange for the holding of the vessel in a suspended position above the stove, such that the vessel will depend freely from the support solthat. it may accommodate itself to the movement of the boat, and

will always be maintained in a level position. Moreover, stoves or ranges used upon boats are of various sizes, and it is advantageous to provide a single support which may be adjustable to all sizes of such cooking devices, and at the. same time be securable toall types of ranges or stoves, so that it may be used universally.

One object of the present invention is theprovision of. a vessel-leveling or supporting device for galley ranges, which is adapted to maintain the cooking utensil supported thereby in a level position at all times, regardless of the rocking of the boat.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a vessel-leveling or supporting device for galley ranges which is adapted to be secured to the usual range and is provided with means for freely suspending the cooking utensil so that it is capable of universal movement, or movement in any direction, whereby it will always be maintained at a level position.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a vessel-leveling or supporting device for galley ranges such that the device may be readily attached to the usual range, and which may be adjusted to be applied to ranges of various sizes or widths.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a vessel-leveling or supporting device of the character described. and an improved utensil hanger which may readily be secured to a vessel of any size, and which in turn is supported by means providing for its universal movement to compensate for changes in level of the boat.

To these and other" ends the inventionconsists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a vesselsupporting device embodying my invention;

- Fig. 2 isa sectional view through the extensible supporting rod of the apparatus-on line 22 of Fig; 1-;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the end standards;

Fig. 4 is. a view of reduced. size of the parts shown in Fig, 1 showing the operation of the device when in a tilted position;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the hanger ,employed with. my device; and

Fig. 6 is a view. of the base of an end standard of slightly modified form for use with a guard rail of circular cross section.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown in Fig. l the upper portion of a range or stove Iii, which may be of, any suitable character. for use upon boatsor similar vessels. Such ranges are. usually provided with a guard rail, shown at. H, which rail may be supported fromthe range. by brackets I2. In the form shown, it will be understood that the, guard rail ll is comprised of side members or runs, as well as. the front member, shown inthe front view of Fig-1.

The vessel-supporting attachment which is the subject matter of the present application is designed to be detachably secured to this rail, and more particularly to the side runs thereof. 7 For this purpose the attachment consists of the end standards l3, which may be of similar form, and which are provided at their lower ends with inwardly facing channel or U-shaped portions I4 designed to embrace the side runs of the guard rail H. These end standards I3 may be detachably secured to the rail by means of the thumb screws I5.

The front vertical edge portion of each of the standards It is provided with a series of recesses or notches Hi,- these notches being defined by upwardly extendinglips or hook-like members ll which form abutments serving to prevent'a rod or the like from being dislodged from the notch I6 after being placed therein. It will be understood'that the two standards l3 will be provided with registering recesses I6 so that the recesses in one standard will'lie opposite those in the other standard.

An extensible supporting member is provided to span the distance between the end supporting standards and to be received and retained in the notches I6. This member comprises two telescoping sections I8 and I9, which, as shown, may be hollow, the section I9 being received in the section I8, and preferably making a close sliding fit therein, Adjacent the outer end of the section I8 a sleeve or collar is secured therein, the projecting end of which is of smaller size than the section I8, and to this sleeve is secured a ring or handle 2| which will preferably be of some non-conducting material. It will be noted that the handle 2I is provided with a shoulder 22, which is spaced from the shoulder formed by the end of the section I8, so that the projecting end of the sleeve 20 may be received in the recess I6 of an end standard I3, with the standard being disposed between the shoulder 22 and the end of the section I8. This arrangement provides in effect a reduced portion on the supporting member to be received in the recess I 6 in such a manner as to prevent longitudinal movement of the section I8 relatively to the end standard I3.

In a similar manner a sleeve 23 is inserted in the end of the section I 9, to which sleeve is secured a handle 24 also of non-conducting material, this handle being provided with a shoulder 25, between which shoulder and the end of the section IS the corresponding standard I3 is adapted to be embraced. It will be understood that when the extensible member comprising the sections I8 and I9 is removed from the end standards I3, as may freely be done by giving this member a slight upward and outward movement so as to withdraw it from the recesses I8. the member may be extended or contracted to the desired length to fit the width of the range or stove with which it is to be used.

Slidingly mounted upon this extensible memher is a supporting hook comprising a body portion 26 and a hook portion 21. The body portion 26 will be arranged to embrace the extensible member to hold the supporting hook thereon. Preferably there will be a relatively close fit between the body portion 26 and the extensible member, so that. While this member may be moved along the extensible member as desired, it will ordinarily maintain its position thereon. The book portion 21 is of the usual form, so that a ring-shaped object may be supported thereby and be free to swing in a universal movement.

In order to support a cooking vessel or utensil from the hook 21. I have provided a hanger of special form. shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 5. This hanger is provided at its upper portion with a ring 28 formed by twisting the material of which the hanger is formed into ring formation. Below the ring the arms of the hanger extend in a substantially horizontal direction. as shown at 29 and 30. and are provided with bifurcated ends 3| and 32, which depend downwardly and are prevented from spreading apart by means of straps 33. Upon the lower ends of the bifurcated arms 3I and 32 are provided hooks 34, which, as shown in Fig. 1, are desi ned to engage below the rim 35 of a cooking utensil 36.

It will be understood that when the hanger is not in use, the spring tension of the material of which it is made will normally cause the arms 3| to approach the arms 32, or, as viewed in Fig. 1, the hooks 34 upon one side of the device Will approach the hooks 34 on the other side. When it is desired to secure the hanger to a vessel, the user may grasp the straps 33 and pull the arms apart until they are spread sufiiciently to receive the rim 35 of the vessel 36 therebetween. The straps 33 are then released, and it will be seen that the hanger will grip the ring of the vessel at four points, this grip being increased due to the weight of the vessel when the hanger is supported by the ring 28. When it is desired to detach the hanger from the vessel, it is merely necessary to grasp the straps 33 and pull outwardly on these straps to disengage the hooks 34 from the rim 35.

In Fig. 6 of the drawing I have shown a somewhat modified form of end standards I3, which are designed for gripping a circular guard rail. In this instance the lower portion of the standard I3 is of V-shaped form, as shown at 31, so as to embrace the circular rail 38. Below the V- shaped portion the foot of the end standards is of L-shaped form, as shown at 39, and a set screw 40 is arranged to bear against the lower side of the rail 38 so as to force it into the V- shaped socket 31.

It will be seen that I have provided an attachmerit for galley ranges which is adjustable to any size of range, and which may readily be attached to the guard rail of the range so that the extensible supporting member may be positioned at any desired vertical height above the top of the range. The cooking utensil, while suspended above the range, will be suspended in close proximity to the flame, and will be practically as efficient as if the utensil were seated on the range itself. Moreover, the cooking utensil is suspended in a convenient and efficient manner, and moreover is suspended for universal movement, so it will always be held in a level position regardless of the level of the range itself. The extensible member comprising the sections I8 and I9 will be securely held against any sliding movement longitudinally in the end standards I3, and at the same time when it is removed from these standards it may be readily adjusted to any desired length.

While I have shown and described some preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown. but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An attachment for a galley range having a rail, comprising a pair of standards detachably securable to said rail, each of said standards being provided with a series of recesses openin through the front edge thereof, an extensible supporting member having its ends seated in said recesses to be supported by said standards. a supporting hook slidably supported by said member, a hanger freely suspended from said hook and designed to be secured to a vessel to be supported by the attachment, said hanger comprising a pair of resilient oppositely disposed bifurcated arms, and said arms having means at their ends to grip a vessel whereby a four-point contact with the vessel is provided.

2. An attachment for a galley range having a rail, comprising a pair of standards detachably securable to said rail, each of said standards being provided with a series of recesses opening through the front edge thereof, an extensible supporting member having its ends seated in said recesses to be supported by said standards, a supporting hook slidably supported by said member, a hanger freely suspended from said hook and designed to be secured to a vessel to be supported by the attachment, said hanger comprising a member having an eye to be engaged with said hook, and oppositely disposed arms projecting outwardly and downwardly from said eye, the outer ends of said arms being bifurcated and spread apart to provide a fourpoint contact with a cooking utensil, said arms being resilient whereby the hooks upon one arm are normally urged in a direction toward the 5 books of the other arm.

ROBERT E. COONEY. 

